Workshop offers training on money matters

Catholic Community Services Housing Counseling Program, through support from the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, presents a series of free Financial Education Workshops, “Living Well with Less.”

Sandy Carlson, director of the Housing Counseling Program, put the curriculum together and workshop leaders are certified housing counselors from Catholic Community Services.

It will include an easy to read credit report tips to track spending and budget as well as advice on how to reduce energy costs, coupon use and making inexpensive meals at home.

Each session includes time for participants to mentor each other and share their own saving tips.

“Our greatest resource is each other,” Carlson said.

The first of the workshops, Money Matters, begins at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 23 at Catholic Charities Bureau, 1416 Cummings Ave., Superior, and repeats at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 30 for another group of participants.

The Money Matters workshop concentrates on money management through the setting of realistic financial goals, tracking spending, budgeting, planning expenditures and identifying methods of decreasing monthly spending and increasing monthly income.

The workshops are 90 minutes in length and all materials and resources are free to participants and paid for by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s community education program.

In February the second workshop, “To Your Credit,” begins at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 6 and Feb. 13, and concentrates on methods to repair and rebuild your credit history. You will get a free copy of your credit report and scores. On Feb. 20, the workshop Pay Yourself First, which includes information on building a financial future through a savings plan, is presented at the same time and place.

“We’re very pleased to be working cooperatively with the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation and FDIC to present these important workshops for establishing financial independence. Workshops need not be taken in sequence, and we welcome everyone who is interested in improving their financial life and having more financial independence,” Carlson said.

Register by phone at 715-394-6617. Advance registration is encouraged but walk-ins are welcome.

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